Reborn into Naruto World with Tenseigan

“Will he provide us with the inside information we need?”

Zetsu’s question left ‘Madara’ in silence, “……”

Even ‘Madara’ couldn’t deny the strategic value of Kuroto. Now that Kuroto had become Hokage, he would undoubtedly come into contact with Amatsukami’s classified information. ‘Madara’ was determined to keep Kuroto under his control.

However, with Kuroto’s new position as Hokage, ‘Madara’ realized that stronger measures were needed to maintain control. “‘A bait, huh?’ thought ‘Madara’ as he turned to ‘Kuroto’ and asked, “Didn’t you encounter him when you infiltrated Konoha? He must have realized that you’re not dead… and given his intelligence, he’ll understand the implications. Using the ‘Breaking the Caged Bird’ technique as bait could still work!”

‘Kuroto’ shook his head. “There was chaos in Konoha, and unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to meet him. Moreover, I killed everyone who saw me. It wasn’t an attempt to hide; it just seemed natural to eliminate them all.” He paused and added, “But there’s one person who saw my face and survived.”

“Who is it?” asked ‘Madara.’

‘Kuroto’ replied, “It’s Hyuga Hizashi. He knows that I’m alive and that I’m responsible for unsealing the Box of Bliss, as well as the death of Hyuga Aoyama.”

‘Madara’ held his chin thoughtfully and said, “Even if the main Hyuga family tries to cover up Hyuga Aoyama’s death, Hyuga Kuroto should still receive intelligence from them. Sooner or later, he’ll realize that you’re still alive, and that’s a good thing.” He added, “As long as he knows that someone from the Hyuga Clan’s branch division managed to break free from the ‘Caged Bird,’ there’s a chance he’ll take the bait. And if you have a method to break the ‘Caged Bird,’ he should be willing to provide us with the inside information we need.”

‘Kuroto’ questioned in a peculiar tone, “How can you be so sure?”

‘Madara’ folded his hands over his chest and replied with confidence, “I know him. I understand him better than he understands himself, and I’m certain he’ll take the bait.”

“Well, if you say so,” shrugged ‘Kuroto’ with a smile, then pointed at the Eight Tails and asked, “By the way, what’s going on with this thing?”

“Oh, this… When I went to capture him, Raikage and the villagers were being quite meddlesome, so I didn’t have enough time to subdue him. You know, what if Amatsukami were to appear? Their arrival would have disrupted our plan. So, I used a technique to temporarily immobilize him and retreated,” explained ‘Madara.’ He added, “Now that we’re at the base, I was planning to deal with him. But you see, Sasori was quite frustrated. He failed to get his revenge on Hyuga Kuroto, and he also failed to capture the Jinchuriki of the Three Tails. So, I took out this guy so that he could release his frustration.”

“Well, aren’t you kind?” mocked ‘Kuroto.’

Although ‘Madara’ explained casually, his meaning was quite clear. The Jinchuriki of the Eight Tails, Killer Bee, was nothing more than that and could be dealt with at any moment.

Actually, ‘Kuroto’ wanted to use this opportunity to ask about the whereabouts of Nagato and the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. However, he restrained himself, fearing that inquiring about their locations might raise suspicion from Zetsu and ‘Madara,’ increasing their vigilance. Therefore, he chose to remain silent, planning to observe the situation for a while and then think of a way to find Naruto.

While ‘Kuroto’ was biding his time, the battle between Sasori and Killer Bee had intensified. As ‘Madara’ had mentioned, Sasori was quite frustrated due to his failure to capture his target, and the encounter with Kuroto had added insult to injury. Consequently, Sasori was in a foul mood and directing all his anger at poor Bee.

Of course, Killer Bee was no pushover either. Although facing someone like Nagato or ‘Madara’ would be challenging for him, going up against Sasori was a different story. Even with the strength of Hiruko’s five Kekkei Genkai, he could hold his own against Sasori. So, Sasori was genuinely struggling against Bee.

‘Sigh, even if he manages to do something against Sasori, escaping will be difficult for him.’ Just as ‘Kuroto’ had this thought, a sudden change occurred.

In its completely liberated-tailed beast form, the Eight-Tails swept all eight of its tails, unleashing an area-of-effect (AOE) attack that sent Sasori and his puppets reeling. Seizing this opportunity, the Eight-Tails channeled its chakra to create a giant Tailed Beast Bomb and launched it in the direction of Zetsu, ‘Madara,’ and ‘Kuroto.’

“Take this… Bakayaro Konoyaro!”

Noticing the trajectory of Killer Bee’s attack, ‘Kuroto’ narrowed his eyes and swiftly leaped backward. Zetsu’s expression tightened as he quickly sank into the ground.

In contrast to ‘Kuroto’ and Zetsu, ‘Madara’ did not dodge, flee, or retreat. Instead, he used Kamui to create a spiraling vortex in the path of the Tailed Beast Bomb and transported it into the Kamui dimension.

Just as ‘Madara’ was transferring the Tailed Beast Bomb into the Kamui dimension, Killer Bee seized the opportunity to detach one of the Eight-Tails’ limbs and attempted to escape. Unfortunately for him, he was discovered before he could take a single step.

“Damn it… at this rate, there’s no escape!” muttered Bee as he reabsorbed the Eight-Tails within him. After a moment of contemplation, he charged in the direction where ‘Kuroto’ had just retreated.

Bee was keenly aware of the situation. He understood that battling Sasori was futile, and even if he were to win, it wouldn’t change anything. Other members of Akatsuki would inevitably come for him. Despite having a steady chakra supply due to hosting the Eight-Tails, he would either end up dead or captured. His only chance of escape was to create an opportunity.

The previous Tailed Beast Bomb he had fired should have created that opportunity. After all, when a Tailed Beast Bomb explodes, it causes mountains to rupture, enveloping the area in smoke and dust. Everyone would be profoundly shaken, and it would take some time to regain control. In short, there would be chaos, and he planned to use that chaos to break free from Akatsuki’s base.

However, he never expected that the Tailed Beast Bomb would be dealt with by the masked guy, ‘Madara,’ in such a manner. Moreover, the tail he had detached was immediately noticed. Thus, he had no other choice but to brute force his way out of there.

Regarding the direction he chose, Killer Bee had given it some thought. Among all the people present at Akatsuki’s base, only ‘Kuroto’ wasn’t wearing the traditional Akatsuki Organization uniform. Furthermore, earlier, ‘Kuroto’ had displayed the ability of flight, which hadn’t gone unnoticed. Therefore, Bee believed that as long as he took ‘Kuroto’ hostage and threatened him, there should be a way to access the sky for his escape. Since Bee didn’t know ‘Kuroto’s’ true identity, he assumed that ‘Kuroto’ might be a new recruit lacking strength, making him the perfect means of escape.

It’s a pity that the situation turned out to be different from what Bee had assumed.

“Sigh… don’t come here… I really can’t help you,” thought ‘Kuroto’ as he noticed Bee rushing toward him.

In fact, it’s not impossible for ‘Kuroto’ to aid Killer Bee’s escape. However, if he were to assist Bee, he would lose the opportunity to rescue Naruto.

In terms of value and importance, Killer Bee and Uzumaki Naruto are worlds apart. True, Killer Bee is undoubtedly strong and the host of the Eight-Tails, but in comparison to Naruto’s potential and the importance of the Nine-Tails, it’s incomparable. Therefore, it wasn’t a difficult choice for ‘Kuroto,’ and he made it with ease.

“I’m sorry… I have nothing against you… It’s just that you are not as valuable as Naruto. Unless I confirm Naruto’s whereabouts, I can’t risk it.” With this thought in mind, ‘Kuroto’ raised his right hand and decisively used Shinra Tensei on Bee.

“If there’s anyone you wish to blame, blame yourself!”